


[COMPLETE] Who Killed BYTE?

by MeltyMetroid



Series: Championship of the Ribbonissa [2]
Category: ARMS (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Murder Mystery, filled with headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-01-22 08:03:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12477028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeltyMetroid/pseuds/MeltyMetroid
Summary: A luxury train ride for the ARMS cast suddenly comes to an abrupt stop as BYTE's damaged body is found headless. One of the ten ARMS fighter passengers is the culprit - but who?





	1. Expect Extravagance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MalaproposMongrel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalaproposMongrel/gifts), [Tajehle](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Tajehle).



> Welcome to the ARMS murder mystery fic! Can you figure out whodunit?
> 
> Here’s some quick pointers about this fic:  
> \- This fic follows my previous fic, Dawn of the Championship of the Ribonissa, and while I do suggest you have a read through that one too, it’s not mandatory to understand and enjoy this fic.  
> \- This is being written as of ARMS Version 3.2, so any characters and content added after 3.2 will be absent.  
> \- Max Brass is also absent from this fic, since he was the antagonist of sorts in the previous fic and would also likely have brought some authority to this murder situation, which I’d like to avoid to make things more chaotic. -  
> \- No, there’s no twist where it was Brass all along. The culprit is definitely one of the ten other fighters: not Brass, not Biff, not BYTE himself (nor BARQ!), and not any of the non-fighter characters featured.
> 
> Characters may differ heavily from their official portrayals as this is being written before much official characterization has been supplied by Nintendo.
> 
> Strong elements of RibMin (Ribbon Girl/Min Min), but it isn't the immediate focus of the story (hell, even less so than my last fic). Also some SpringJara (Spring Man/Ninjara), but much less present than RibMin.
> 
> No sexual content. Violence is mostly only present in the same way violence is present in ARMS itself.
> 
> Dedicated to MalaproposMongrel and Tajehle, for leaving comments on my last fic <3
> 
> Enjoy!

Ribbon Girl stared out the car window, mesmerized by the lush green forest around them. “Mmmm!~ I wish we had this kinda scenery back home. It’s all so pretty here.”

Min Min, at the wheel, yawned quietly. “Nah. There’s nothin’ around for ages. It’d take, like, an hour to get anywhere.”

“That’s good, though!” Ribbon Girl smiled back. “It’d be so serene and peaceful, and you wouldn’t have to worry about noisy neighbours or busy streets or airplanes flying low overhead…”

“Yeah butcha’d haveta drive forty minutes to get to any stores. That’s just annoying.” Min Min turned to face Ribbon Girl as the length of road ahead became straight and clear. “I think you just need a holiday, hun. You gotta relax a lil.”

She sighed. “Mmm, I know. I thought I’d take a break after the championship but I’ve been working more than ever. Who knew the champ had to go to so many signings?” She lay her head against the window, feeling the warm sun shine against her skin. “Even this doesn’t really count as a holiday. It’s still for the league.”

“Yeahhhh, but at least ya aren’t fighting. And the journey there will be nothin’ but rest and relaxation!” She softly smiled to Ribbon Girl. “I mean, the train itself is named _Extravagant Express_. So I’m kinda bankin’ on it being some real fancy cruise ship type deal. But with a train.”

The forest around them began to disperse as they continued their countryside drive. A beautiful horizon view replaced the trees, with gorgeous fields of summertime crop stretching for miles on end and a bright blue sky shining down from above. And there, in the distance, stretched an exquisite marvel of locomotive engineering - the Extravagant Express.

Ribbon Girl let out a tiny, happy gasp as the train came into view. “Oh my gosh, it’s _gorgeous!_ ”

Min Min put her arm up to block the sun from her eyes. “Ha, guess I was right on the money. That’s one hell of a fancy train.”

“Mmmmmmmmmm, I’m _sooooo_ ready to just lie down and relax! I bet the food is incredible, and the view of the sea in the sunlight - _gosh!_ ” She wiggled in her seat a bit as she thought about it. “This is perfect. This is _exactly_ what I needed.”

Min Min smiled brightly. “You’ve earned it, _Ms. Champion._ ”

From the looks of it, the Extravagant Express certainly lived up to its name - it was a beautifully designed state-of-the-art steam engine, pulling along five luxury carriages fitted for a smooth and enjoyable journey.

To the front of the train was, naturally, the engine room. The staff had their quarters here, tucked away out of sight from the passengers. The day-to-day supplies were also kept here, in easy reach of the train’s staff.

Behind the engine room was the dining cart - a large dining room with beautiful decor and a well stocked kitchen to the back. Fresh ingredients were always stocked aboard shortly before departure, ensuring quality meals could be prepared without issue.

Three sleeper carts followed the dining cart, holding three decently spacious bedrooms each, though the last held only two: a standard room and a room twice the size of the others known as the _Champion’s Suite_. The walls separating rooms had been made decently thick to ensure optimal privacy, and each room was lockable from both the inside and the out.

At the back of the train came the cargo storage, where personal belongings could be set aside for the trip. Things here were typically stored within heavy metal boxes, which were then tied down to the train’s floor for better safety.

The journey made by the Extravagant Express brought passengers from the countryside to a small town in the middle of the Arctic, passing over vast expanses of ocean along the way. The trip, in total, took just under two days. Departure came some time after noon the first day, and arrival followed on the morning of the third.

Due to the rather heavy price tag of the room tickets, the typical passenger to ride the Extravagant Express could easily be compared to a caricature of wealth - exquisite tastes, a smug attitude, and more than enough money to splash around on fanciful train journeys. But today was different. There were no fur coats or monicals to be seen, as the passengers aboard the Extravagant Express today were all _ARMS Fighters_.

The ARMS league had spent the last two or three years building a brand new stadium in the arctic, bringing the world of ARMS fighting to a whole new scene. The stadium itself was due for a grand opening and they saw no better way to start with a bang than by bringing over the biggest and toughest ARMS fighting had to offer for an incredible tournament.

Ribbon Girl and Min Min were not the first to arrive. As they pulled into the car park they noticed several cars already set aside - a sleek car with a snake-skin paint job (obviously Kid Cobra’s), a fanciful freshly waxed convertible (no doubt belonging to Twintelle), an old second-hand sedan (recognisably Spring Man’s), and a large and horribly dusty SUV (Master Mummy’s).

They exited the car and removed some luggage from the trunk, taking two big suitcases with them as well as two carefully secured carry cases that held their ARMS. They headed up the stairs of the station and were immediately greeted by some uniformed staff members, who checked their tickets and took their luggage in politely.

“It’s gorgeous up-close!” Ribbon Girl beamed happily, looking over the exterior of the train. “I hope it’s good at keeping the cold out.”

“Of course!” Smiled the attendant beside the train door. “I can assure you it’s well primed for arctic weather. The cabins are well insulated and the wheels are built to withstand icy rails. No need to worry! Please enjoy your stay.”

Ribbon Girl smiled back and went to head inside, but was suddenly stopped by Min Min tugging at her arm. “Ey…” She pointed down to the car park they had just came from. “Look who’s here.”

Beside a rusty pickup truck stood Mechanica, practically being hugged to death by her father as he saw her off. A crew member had gone down to greet them, and was struggling to carry her mech from out of the pickup truck’s back.

“You wanna wait for her or what?”

“Hmmmm…” Ribbon Girl thought for a moment. “We’ll get settled and meet her in the dining room. She’ll probably take a while to say goodbye to her dad anyway.” Ribbon Girl turned back to the attendant beside them. “She has a paid ticket: not one from the league. They told me that’d be fine but if there’s any issues send someone to get me! I don’t want her sent away.”

“Of course, ma’am. No worries.” The attendant smiled back.

The two boarded the train, entering at the third sleeper cart. The interior was stunningly gorgeous - a fine wood paneling lead up each wall about waist-high to meet with a beautiful red wallpaper sporting a fancy design of golden swirls which reached the rest of the way to the ceiling.

Another attendant stood waiting for them, and greeted them with another smile. “Welcome! You must be Ribbon Girl and Min Min. Congratulations on your championship!” She motioned to the carriage door behind her. “The two of you will be staying in the Champion’s Suite, over in the first sleeper cart.” She flicked through her stack of keycards for a moment, a little confused, before quickly remembering the key in her pocket. “Ah! Yes, the key to the Champion’s Suite is actually a proper key…”

The attendant passed a small bronze key to Ribbon Girl. It seemed rather classical - it had a large loop to one end and a long shaft with rectangular teeth.

“I apologize if it feels a little finnkey. We were used to transporting the previous champion, Max Brass, on his world tours. He quite liked physical keys over the keycards. ‘Brass wants brass!’, as he’d say.”

Though strange at first, the two shrugged it off and headed down to the first sleeper cart. From the hallway this carriage seemed much like the other two, but rather than three room doors this one had just two - one alike the others they had passed, and one far more stylized with a deep wax wooden finish, long golden trails, a great big brass door lock, and a gold-plated sign baring the words _Champion’s Suite_.

Ribbon Girl slipped the key into the lock, but paused before turning it. The door to the room beside theirs had opened, and out came two familiar faces.

“... starts until around seven, I think? At least not until the train is in motion.” The tall, blue-haired man mumbled.

“Well I dunno, I just don’t wanna stay cramped up in our room all day. Might at least have their menus available, it’s worth a look.” The other, similarly tall man replied.

“Hey Spring!” Ribbon Girl called out.

The two stopped and turned to them. Spring Man smiled. “Heyyy, you’ve arrived!”

“Ribbon Girl.” Ninjara nodded. “Min Min.” Another nod.

“Sup.” Min Min replied casually, resting her shoulder against the wall.

“We were gonna head out to the dining cart and see what it’s like! Nin thinks dinner might be on already, but I doubt it.”

“Pffft.” Min Min smirked. “It’s barely past noon, dude.”

Ninjara rolled his eyes. “I just want to to somewhere with a little more breathing room. We don’t have the luxury of a champion’s room.”

“Oh, congratulations on your championship!” Spring Man smiled to Ribbon Girl. “That was quite some fight! Never thought I’d see the day Brass got taken down. Speaking of which, is he coming too? I didn’t see his name on the tourney listing…”

“No, he’s sitting this one out. He’s got signings to go to, fan meet-ups, TV appearances…” Ribbon Girl shrugged. It was weird thinking back to how she used to feel about Brass, and how his name alone would make her heart sink. But in the months since the championship battle, things had really smoothed out between them. In some ways she was actually pretty disappointed he wouldn’t be coming on this trip too.

“Ninjara and I, the two of you, Mummy, Twintelle, Cobra, BYTE & BARQ, Lola…” Springman glared off into the corner, counting on his fingertips. “Aaand Helix. I think that’s everyone?”

“Mechanica is coming too.”

“Wait, really?” Ninjara looked taken aback. “I _know_ I didn’t see her name on the tourney listing...”

“Oh, well, with Brass not coming I bought the extra room so she could come alone!” Ribbon Girl smiled. “She’s a big fan of the league, and I kinda owed her a favour.”

Ninjara sighed. “You’re just gettin’ her hopes up. The ARMS league is for ARMS fighters. Y’know… Fighters with ARMS. _Actual_ ARMS.”

“Be nice.” Min Min glared.

He sighed again, louder. “Well we’ll see ya around. Enjoy your room, champ.”

The two men began heading out. Springman turned back quickly to wave at them before leaving, and Ribbon Girl waved back.

The interior of the Champion’s Suite was a good deal larger than the other rooms, and overflowing with fancy dressings all over the walls, furniture, and bedding. The bed itself was massive - easily enough for the two of them - and adorned with velvet curtains hanging from the ceiling, which were currently tied neatly to the poles that stemmed from the bed’s corners.

“Damnnnnn. I think this place is bigger than my bedroom.” Min Min remarked looking around.

“Don’t be silly.” Ribbon Girl replied, rolling her eyes with a smile. She knelt beside the bed and slid her glove case beneath it.

Min Min did the same, slipping it beside Ribbon Girl’s, before jumping onto the bed and lying down. “Ohhhh yes. This thing is comfy.”

Ribbon Girl sat herself down beside Min Min. “It’ll be nice to finally relax a bit. I’d-”

Suddenly a chime cut her off. The intercom in the carriage played a small welcoming tune, before the voice of an attendant took over. “Goooooooood afternoon passengers! I will be your conductor for this trip, and I do hope you all enjoy yourselves immensely. We will be departing shortly and expect to arrive in the early morning of our third day. The trip will be feature no stops until we reach our destination, which is just as well as the majority of our trip will be over the ocean!”

Ribbon Girl lay down against the bedding, and Min Min put an arm behind her. The bed, as Min Min had pointed out a moment before, _was_ extremely comfy.

“Since we are transporting ARMS passengers…” The intercom continued. “I do ask that everyone with the ARMS ability keeps their masks _off_ and in their respective travelling cases. There is to be no ARM fighting on the trip!”

Min Min sighed, pressing her head against Ribbon Girl’s. “Getttt onnnn withhhh ittttt…”

“And finally, I do want to point out that the furthest carriage on the train will be out-of-bounds for the duration of the trip. With all that, I do hope you have a _lovely_ stay, and we will be departing shortly!” The intercom cut off with a slight buzz.

Min Min cocked an eyebrow. “What’s the last cart off limits for?”

Ribbon Girl sighed. “It’s probably just all ugly metal in there. Doesn’t fit with the whole luxury image.”

Min Min didn’t shrug it off easily. She had a weird feeling in her gut that there was something they hadn’t been told about this trip, and that feeling was hard to shake.

The train jolted briefly and then slowly began to chug along at a slow pace, building up speed quietly. Ribbon Girl jumped to her knees and crawled over Min Min to the far-end of the bed, staring out of the beautifully clear window at the passing scenery. “Ohhhh, woah! Look at all the fields! It’s soooo pretty here!”

Min Min stayed with her head to the pillow. “Enjoy it while it lasts, hun.” She yawned. “It’ll all be ocean tomorrow.”

With the Extravagant Express finally on its way, all that was left to do for the next few days was _relax_. And the two planned to do just that.

It’s just a shame someone else had other plans…


	2. Things That Go Bump in the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeahhhh, this is the first update in five months... Sorry!! I really didn't mean to leave it this long, I just got distracted by Super Mario Odyssey, then Xenoblade Chronicles 2... Then like six other things.
> 
> I actually have like 80% of the full story finished, though. I've been updating it every so often in my Word doc, I just keep forgetting to post it here. I'm gonna try for more regular uploads and hopefully I'll finish the story without anymore major breaks!
> 
> This is a pretty long chapter with some good meat to it, so I hope it was worth the wait! Thanks again for your patients and comments <3

Some time had passed since departure and the view of the sky from the suite window showed a gorgeous sunset blasting orange tones across the nearing sea.

“I’m hungry!” Min Min said, jumping up straight and stretching her back. “I think it’s time to see how the food is.” She turned around and offered an arm out to Ribbon Girl.

“I remember Brass saying how great it was.” She grabbed Min Min’s hand, helping her to her feet. “But you know he’s not always got the most reliable tastes.”

Min Min pulled her in close. “Dinner at sunset… Awfully romantic, huh?”

She smiled back, with a playful glare. “Yeah, surrounded by all our friends & colleagues… lucky me!”

“Oooooh! When’d  _ you  _ get all sarcastic, Ribs?” She smiled back, pulling her closer. “A dinner date is a dinner date, ya can’t argue with that~”

“I guess you’ve got a point~” She smirked back, biting her lip. The two kissed deeply, before Ribs suddenly cut it off. “... Min. What’s  _ that? _ ” She could feel something in the back pocket of Min Min’s jeans.

“Take a wild guess.” Min Min replied, rolling her eyes.

“Min!!” Ribbon Girl hushed through her teeth. “You’re supposed to keep your mask in your glove case!”

Min Min reached into her back pocket and pressed her mask to her face. Her two arms suddenly unraveled into a spiraling ramen-like mess, and she stuck her tongue out to Ribbon Girl. After a brief second she pulled the mask back off and her ARMS instantly raveled back up into manageable sleeves. “I always keep it on me! You know that.”

Ribbon Girl pouted. “You better not get us in trouble.”

“Pfffff, I betcha everyone else has theirs on ‘em.” She returned her mask to her back pocket.

Ribbon Girl sighed and opened the door. It was a good walk from their room to the dining cart, seeing as they were situated almost to the very back of the train - a detail that felt a little strange for passengers given ‘champion’ status.

 

On arriving they found the dining cart to be, as expected, immensely posh. The walls were adorned with golden spirals and wooden paneling, the table cloths were a velvet red with golden trimmings… You get the idea.

It seemed most other passengers were already here. At a table at the back sat Spring Man and Ninjara, who seemed to also be dining with Kid Cobra. At a booth in the far-end corner sat Twintelle, who for some reason was dining with Helix and somehow actually seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit. And by the entrance they stood in was a booth with a familiar, bandage-clad face sat by the window.

“Hey Mummy!” Ribbon Girl smiled, walking up to the booth.

He turned to face them and smiled back. “Evening, ladies.”

A face suddenly popped up from the long seat opposite him. “Hiya girls!” Beamed Lola, brightly.

Min Min’s heart skipped a beat and she quietly stepped back a bit.

“Oh! Hello Lola. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person!” Ribbon Girl smiled warmly. “How are you finding the league? I’ve heard you’re quite a natural.”

“Oh yeah! It wasn’t long ago that I got these silly sugar ARMS. I always figured wakin’ up with ARMs musta hurt! Boy was I surprised to find the process was…” She winked an eye shut. “... Arm-less!”

“... Oh.” Ribbon Girl smiled fakely. “Y-Yeah, I get it.”

Lola turned to Min Min, who was grimacing toward her. “What’s wrong, gum drop? Don’t gotta sweet tooth?”

Min Min groaned quietly under her breath. “... I don’t like clowns.”

“Oh? But we’re so much fun!” Lola smiled back largely.

Min Min groaned a little louder. “I don’t  _ get _ the whole make-up and silly colours and big shoes…” She crossed her arms, feeling uncomfortable. “It’s not even funny it’s just… Weird.”

“Ya don’t gotta problem with Twinsies’s make-up though, do ya?”

“That’s different! That’s  _ obviously _ different. I don’t have a problem with Ribs’ make-up either, or mine. There’s a little thing called moderation. None of us are wearing big red noses too.” She could feel herself grinding her teeth a bit in her mouth. “Like it’s one thing in front of crowds, but is this really the place for all the clown gear? Don’t you ever… Drop it?”

Lola starred her straight in the eyes, keeping a small smile on her face unendingly. “I’m  _ always _ a clown, gum drop.”

A shiver went down Min Min’s spine. She didn’t like it. Not at all.

Ribbon Girl opened her mouth to say something, but paused briefly as a bombastic laugh echoed through the cart. She looked over to the corner where Twinetelle and Helix were sat, and saw her laughing heartily as she spoke to Helix.

Master Mummy turned back to the others, having turned to the source of the laughter too. “I think Helix is giving you a run for your money there, Lola.” She pouted. “Who’d have thought Twintelle and Helix would get along so well, eh?”

Ribbon Girl shrugged. “Helix is a little weird but I’m pretty sure he means well. It’s good of Twintelle to look past all his… Blobbiness.”

“Mm. Well said.” Master Mummy cut into his steak dinner. “Say, Ribbon Girl, I don’t recall seeing your name on the tournament listing?”

“Oh! No, actually, I won’t be fighting in it.” She smiled back to them. “I’m still a little exhausted from the championship battle, so I’m just here to support Min Min. Oh, and I’ll be doing a concert too!”

The ARMS league had initially asked her to fight, but weren’t too disappointed when she declined. Oddly, it seemed they had something already planned for the final fight, though no one was quite sure yet what it would be.

Mummy motioned toward Ribbon Girl and Min Min. “You two should come sit with us. Lola and I were just talking about the ethics in political deception and ambiguity. Fascinating stuff.”

It was surprising to find Lola involved in Master Mummy’s overly theoretical discussions. It was usually hard for most ARMS fighters to keep up with so much of what he said when he’d bring up these kinda things. Maybe there was more to Lola than there seemed?

“Mm, it’s fascinating, I won’t lie…” Lola winked again. “But then again, I’m not a politician~! Get it?” Easy come easy go, I guess.

Again, no one laughed. But Min Min did groan a decent bit louder.

“I… I appreciate the offer!” Ribbon Girl smiled at the two of them. “But I think Min would prefer we found our own table.” She turned to Min Min, who was standing a bit further back, arms crossed, grimacing at the wall. “Come on, sweetie~”

“Sweetie?” Lola winked. “I thought  _ I _ was the sweet one!”

“IT’S NOT FUNNYYYYYYY!” Min Min groaned again, walking off to a distant table. Ribbon Girl laughed nervously, said goodbye to the two, and followed after Min Min.

The evening continued rather nicely as they sat down and had their orders taken. The evening sky began to darken more, deepening the orange hues to reds, and bringing in sprinkles of starlight dotted across the skyline.

Ribbon Girl giggled as she spoke to Min Min over dinner, when something caught her eye across the room. The door from the sleeper carriages opened slowly and Mechanica walked in, looking around a little nervously. “Mechy!” Ribbon Girl called out to her, a little loudly. She caught Mechanica’s attention and beckoned her over to sit with them.

“H-Hi!” She smiled to them as she quietly took her seat. “Thank you so much, again, for the ticket.”

“Of course, Mechanica! I’m glad you could make it.”

“Hell yeah.” Min Min motioned at Mechanica with a finger-gun as she chewed her pasta. “Pretty fancy dig, huh?”

“The train? Yeah! It’s so-” Mechanica’s eager smile dropped slowly as she stared off at a table to the back.

“... Mechy?” Min Min squinted, before twisting her head back behind her. “... OH!” She turned back to Mechanica again. “That’s Kid Cobra.”

“O-Oh. Sorry, I just… I’ve never seen him without his helmet before.”

She continued to stare a couple tables back, where Ninjara and Spring Man were dining with Kid Cobra. Without his helmet he was  _ remarkably _ snake-like, with slit nostrils and jaggad, scaly skin.

“You get used to it.” Min Min shrugged. “Just don’t let him sneak up on ya’. Trust me, you won’t hear it comin’.”

A waitress appeared beside them and took Mechanica’s order. It wasn’t long until her meal arrived, and the three continued talking deeper into the night, as the sky fell black and the stars really began to pop against it.

The carriage door opened again and metallic footsteps began to clang against the wooden floor, accompanied by the sound of a whirring wheel.

Min Min flicked her eyes to the open door and gasped hard, almost choking on her food. “BARQ!!” She smiled brightly, beginning to pat at her lap. “Here boy, here boy!”

BARQ slowly rolled over to her and played a small sound clip of a dog’s bark.

“Goooooooood boyyyyyyyyyyy!!” She gleed, petting atop his metal casing excitedly. “Do you wanna dog biscuit?”

Ribbon Girl sighed, rolling her eyes. For someone who wasn’t a fan of Lola’s comedy she sure didn’t have a much better sense of humour.

“B-But wait!” Min Min gasped, hanging her jaw. “You don’t have a mouth, BARQ!! How are you gonna eat the biscuit??”

BARQ played a small dog whine sound clip.

BYTE walked over to the table too, following his dog companion. “ Good evening citizens. ” He said mechanically.

“Hi BYTE!” Ribbon Girl smiled to him. “You’ll be competing in the tournament, yeah?”

“ Affirmative .”

“Then I look forward to seeing you fight!”

“Hey BYTE, what’s up with the off-limits cart?” Min Min chimed in, the thought randomly coming to her head.

“ Classified information. ” He replied bluntly. “ No passengers may enter the cargo carriage for the duration of the trip. ”

“Not even you?”

“ I am an exception. I have been tasked with safeguarding the cargo carriage for the duration of the trip. ” Another whimper came from BARQ. “ ... BARQ is also an exception and will be accompanying me. He is... A good boy. ” A happy bark came from BARQ.

Ribbon Girl smiled as she watched BYTE bend down to pet BARQ. It was remarkable just how human he was. I mean, he was pretty clearly a robot in and out - but it was easy to characterize him and really grow close to him as a  _ person _ . She considered for a moment if that was a weird thing to feel, but given how close Min Min clearly was to BARQ, she didn’t have to consider that long.

“ We must continue on our way. Enjoy your meals. ” BYTE presented a thumbs up to the trio and BARQ played another happy bark sound clip, before the two began heading away.

“I love that dog so much.” Min Min smiled warmly, leaning back against her chair.

“More than me?” Ribbon Girl teased.

“Duh.” Min Min replied before thinking. “Wait, I mean I love him more than you love him. Not that I love him more than I love you!”

Ribbon Girl giggled back.

“... Soooooo whatcha think’s in the cargo carriage?” Min Min asked quietly.

“Well theh ARHMS lahb-” Mechanica paused a moment to finish the mouthful of macaroni and cheese she was eating. “... Well the ARMS lab is funding the new stadium a lot, so I’m thinking it’s something from them.”

Ribbon Girl leaned in close, speaking quietly and looking a little worried. “... You don’t think they’ve brought Hedlok, do you?”

“Oh! Uh… No no I don’t think so.” She thought back to the mayhem that had followed the championship battle. “I think Hedlok is probably still too much of a prototype. And not to mention  _ dangerous _ .”

“Mm.” Ribbon Girl mumbled quietly. “... But on the off chance it  _ is _ Hedlok, you’ve still got that code, yeah? The one you used to get him off Brass?”

“Mmhmm!” Mechanica chimed back. “That’d be nothing to worry about!”

“Unless it glomps onta  _ you! _ ” Min Min teased, pointing her fork at Mechanica. “Then we’re ALL doomed!”

 

The three of them laughed and moved onto other things. The night drew to a close not long after, with their dinners thoroughly enjoyed and their eyes getting heavy, Ribbon Girl and Min Min said their good nights to Mechanica and headed back to their room for some sleep.

And it didn’t take long at all for the two of them to doze off, wrapped up in those soft velvety sheets, with the cool sea air breezing in softly from the open window. Ribbon Girl was deep asleep, her arms wrapped around Min Min snugly, but Min Min wasn’t sleeping quite as soundly.

There was a strange dull thumping in her head, once every two seconds or so.

Thunk… Thunk… Thunk… Thunk…

I was beginning to get hard to ignore, when suddenly it dawned on her that the noise she was hearing was coming from the room. She opened her eyes and sat up a bit as best she could, still being grasped by Ribbon Girl. The room was dark, illuminated only by a slight blue tint from the moonlight.

Thunk… Thunk… Thunk… Thunk…

… It was coming from the door. Something was constantly smacking against the base of the door, about two or three feet from the ground.

She tried to get up from the bed, but found Ribbon Girl trying to pull her back. She carefully unhinged Ribbon Girl’s grip and laid her down comfortably on the bed, and quietly got to her feet. She approached the door with caution, grabbing her phone from the bedside table and switching the screen on for some light.

The door handle was cold against her fingertips as she slowly twisted it to one side and slipped the door ajar. She motioned her phone to illuminate the hallway floor, and found BARQ looking up at her, his faceplate lit up by her phone. He whimpered quietly.

“... H-Hey, boy.” She said sleepily, keeping quiet not to disturb Ribbon Girl. “It’s, like, four or five in the morning. Do you want a dog biscuit or something?”

BARQ continued to whimper, before slowly driving about a foot down the hall and turning back to Min Min.

“Come on BARQ, I’ve gotta sleep…”

He continued whimpering, moving further down slowly. She sighed and stepped into the hallway, quietly closing the door behind her.

“It’s  _ freezing _ out here, BARQ. I’m barely dressed for this.”

He didn’t stop whimpering, playing the exact same sound clip over and over, every few seconds. Min Min followed slowly as he led her to a door at the back of the carriage.

“I can’t go back there, BARQ. That’s off limits.”

She paused, stood in front of him as he looked up at her sadly. Or as sadly as a non-expressive metallic faceplate can be.

She sighed and opened the door. A cool blast of night ocean air brushed over her and she began to shiver as she stepped out to the space between the carriages, pressing her bare feet against the metal flooring.

She opened the door to the cargo carriage with much more urgency, eager to get out of the cold. But the floor here was made of equally cold metal. As were the walls. In fact, it was somehow even colder in here than it was between the carriages.

A stack of metal boxes were weirdly walled up a few feet into the carriage. A box in the corner had been pushed out and back against the wall, leaving a BARQ-sized hole where it was. BARQ wheeled through the hole and past the wall of boxes, leaving Min Min on the other side.

She waited for a moment, expecting something to happen, but nothing did. She could hear him whimpering still, so she sighed and carefully gripped one of the boxes. It was  _ freezing _ against her bare hands, but she managed to carefully lift it aside.

Not much could be seen from the gap she had created. The rest of the carriage was dark, with only a small blue glow coming from a large rectangular box against the carriage wall, a slight beam of moonlight coming from the window of the door in the back, and a strange quiet sparking coming from in front of the glowing blue.

She reluctantly picked up another cold box and put it aside, her hands now getting numb from the cold. She stepped over the box in front of her, through the gap she had created, and beside the still whimpering BARQ.

BARQ moved forward slightly, though not much. The weird blue glow was just in front of her now. With the light from her phone she could tell it was some type of chamber - a thick white casing with a glass top, though the glass was completely frozen over, only seeping out a small blue glow stemming from the lights behind the frosted glass.

She shined her phone’s screen light further along the length of the chamber, until something else began coming into view: a strange golden tubing, with slight gaps every couple inches. She followed it upward slightly, until the tubing came to a thick blue plating with golden text printed-

She gasped softly, recognising what she was seeing as part of  _ BYTE _ , and quickly shined her light over to where she was expecting his head to be. But his chestpiece bore no head - just a handful of quietly sparking wires stemming from the empty gap. She was  **not** expecting that.

She gasped hard and fell back against the floor, letting out a loud yelp that echoed back through the carriage and out through the open doors. She quickly stumbled to her feet and dashed over the boxes and out of the cargo carriage as fast as she could.

Ribbon Girl jolted awake at the sound of Min Min’s yelp from the carriage over. It was recognisable, and Min Min was clearly not laying beside her, so she jumped to her feet and swung the door open quickly.

Ribbon Girl headed down the hall and collided with Min Min, who embraced her quickly, wrapping her arms around her.

“Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god……” Min Min hyperventilated.

A door further back in the carriage swung open quickly and Ninjara stumbled into the hallway, running up to Ribbon Girl and Min Min as quickly as he could. “W-What’s going on? Why’d you scream?” He panted. Spring Man followed behind him too, shortly followed by Master Mummy from the sleeper carriage behind.  
  
Min Min hugged Ribbon Girl deeply, still shaking from the shock, before pulling back and pressing her cold hands to Ribbon Girl’s face. Her lip quivered as she spoke, her eyes batting forth rapidly. “ _ BYTE’s dead. _ ”


	3. The Blame Game

“... At which point our staff members arrived at the scene and asked everyone to return to their rooms while the situation was looked into.” Concluded the train conductor at the end of the dining cart, to the crowd of tired ARMS fighters gathered before him. His summary had been built on Min Min’s report of the events from the moment BARQ came to her door to the moment she fell into Ribbon Girl’s arms. “BYTE’s body has been moved to the engine room, where our staff members are currently examining the damages. We’ll keep you up to date as news develops and we’ll be talking to each of you one-on-one throughout the next day.”

“So if I’m understanding this right...” Master Mummy questioned, sat hunched over at one of the tables, wearing a thick dressing gown. “We’ve still got his body, and it’s in relatively good condition. So BYTE’s not gone for good, yeah? He can just be fixed up with new parts?”

The conductor looked puzzled, and gave a weak shrug. “I’m afraid I’m not that brushed up on robotics, so I’m not really the right person to ask.”

As if in perfect synchronization, everyone in the carriage collectively turned to face Mechanica at once, who was sat by the window in a dining booth opposite Ribbon Girl and Min Min, with a cute yellow blanket draped around her cat-patterned pyjamas. Her eyes widened quickly as she realized she was suddenly the focus. “O-Oh, um…” She looked down for a moment, thinking back. “W-Well a new head could be created, but if I remember correctly his memory banks are stored in the head. It’d still be him, but he wouldn’t have any of his memories. U-Unless he goes to store backups periodically? But he’d still lack any memories of the past few weeks, o-or months… Maybe even the past year?”

Ribbon Girl stared blankly into the distance. The last year was remarkably eventful - new fighters like Lola, Kid Cobra, and Twintelle all joined the league. Mechanica herself began appearing in headlines as the child genius building her way into ARMS-hood. And Ribbon Girl herself, of course, took the championship title only a few months ago, in the first time anyone had beaten Max Brass since he first took the championship himself many, many years before. BYTE would remember none of that. Not the people. Not the moments. Not even Min Min’s silly dog biscuit joke. Would it even still be him?

She took a long, deep breath. “Then we’ll have to find the original head.” The room fell silent, as they now turned their focus to her. “It could be reconnected just fine, right? And we’d have the same old BYTE back?”

Mechanica quietly nodded her head in confirmation.

“Well, what _I_ want to know,” Ninjara chimed up loudly, with a clear anger in his voice, “Is who the hells responsible for this in the first place. We’re surrounded by nothing but ocean for miles and miles, so it had to have been someone on this train.” He stood up sharply and slammed his hands to the table. “Well? Anyone gonna come forward or not?”

“Oh _please_.” Twintelle sighed from the side of the room, where she leant against the wall, draped in a silky red dressing gown. “Are we really all going to pretend we don’t know who’s behind all this? It’s obviously the kid.”

Mechanica sprung her eyes open wide in shock. “Wh-Wha??” Her heart began pounding in her chest harder than ever.

“Woahhhh, okay, let’s slow down a second here!” Ribbon Girl said, putting her hands up.

“She’s the only one of us who’d know how to disconnect the head from the body. I mean, you hear her yourselves - ‘If I remember correctly, the head stores the blah blah blah’...” Twintelle crossed her arms. “She knows an awful lot about BYTE’s robotics.”

“N-No, I-I just read a lot!” Mechanica panicked. “It was in a hardware magazine! I-I would never-”

“Twintelle’s probably right.” Ninjara butt in, crossing his arms too. “The little twerp was probably jealous her bucket of bolts isn’t anywhere close to BYTE’s tech, so she stole the head and plans to use it for scrap.”

“Shut up, Ninjara.” Min Min said, with heavy bags under her eyes. She sat close beside Ribbon Girl, resting her head on her hand with her elbow to the table, still only dressed in what she had gone to bed in. She was absolutely exhausted from the shock of everything that had happened only a few hours before. “I am _really_ not in the mood to deal with your crap right now.”

“I’m just saying what everyone’s thinking!” Ninjara retorted. “She’s the only one with both a motive AND the know-how to have-”

“QUIT. YOUR CRAP.” Min Min snapped back at him, lunging forward in her seat, her eyes bloodshot and her teeth chattering slightly. “I’m not humouring your little blame game.”

“Min Min’s right.” Lola mumbled tiredly, resting her head on her palm, heavy bags under her eyes. “Blame game more like… Lame game. Haaaa.”

“THAT WASN’T FUNNY.” Min Min seethed through her teeth.

“Everyone’s a critic.” Lola lazily replied back, half asleep.

Min Min struck a finger out toward the conductor fiercely. “You! Is there _any_ reason at all to suspect Mechy over of the rest of us yet?”

The conductor was taken aback for a moment, not expecting to be grilled so suddenly. “Uh, n-no, I don’t think so. From what we could tell looking at the body, it seems his head was removed by some sort of wind-attack twisting it off. No sign of any tools being used.”

Min Min threw her arms into the air dramatically. “Ohhhh, well there we have it then! It was _Ninjara!_ ”

“Excuse me?” He glared back at her.

“Oh? Sorry, _I thought it was obvious!_ ” She mocked. “I mean, you _have_ been using Spring Man’s Boomerang gloves a lot lately. Hell, I remember you saying how you were considering swapping your Buffs out for a pair!”

“I didn’t bring any-”

“NO, BUT I BETCHA BOYFRIEND DID!” She shouted back. “Huh, Spring?” Springman dropped his jaw, frozen in surprise. “‘Cause if ya boyfriend brought a pair of gusty gloves with him and was keepin’ ‘em in the same room as you, then ya might as well have brought ‘em yourself!”

“Can we all please stop accusing each other?” Master Mummy pleaded.

Min Min fell back in her chair, shaking slightly. “I’m just sayin’ that if you’re gonna jump on Mechy so quick then maybe you should make sure you’re not a valid suspect yourself.” She crossed her arms and leant back, beyond frustrated. Ribbon Girl rubbed her shoulder supportingly.

“Ribbon Girl is known to use Poppers.” Kid Cobra casually added. “So we should also consider that she could have-”

“Are you really…” Min Min glared down at the table in front of her with a seething rage, beginning to dig her nails into it. “Going to imply… That it was Ribs?” She turned her head slowly toward Kid Cobra, her eyes bloodshot. “Are you _REALLY_ sure you want to suggest that?”

Kid Cobra sweat a bit, wobbling slowly as he slivered in place. “I-I just think we should consider the possibilities…”

“Then let’s consider the possibility it was Kid Cobra.” Twintelle suggested. “He’s known for having wind-based Slamamanders and he’d be able to pull the crime off quite silently, right?”

“H-Hey, knock it off!” He slivered up to her. “I didn’t do a thing to BYTE! _And_ , might I add, you _ALSO_ have wind gloves - those Parasol things!”

She rolled her eyes. “Very observant, snake boy. There are four of us known for having wind gloves. Six if you count the two sharing rooms with wind glove users.”

“Well,” Mummy butted in again, hoping to even out the blaming a bit. “If we’re going to consider Min Min and Ninjara suspects just based on their associations with Ribbon Girl and Spring Man, surely you could argue any two of us could have formed a coalition. We shouldn’t be ruling people out just because we believe they weren’t in possession of wind gloves.”

“Oh, I agree.” Twintelle presented. “My money’s still on the kid. She’s the only one with a clear motive, after all.”

“ _Thank you_.” Ninjara sighed. “And she could have taken Ribbon Girl’s Poppers to unscrew the head.”

Mechanica began to shake again, her eyes desperate.

“Look, we have everything under control at the moment.” The conductor urged, noticing Min Min straightening in her seat from another accusation to both Mechanica _and_ Ribbon Girl. “We have a list of all the ARMS gloves each passenger reported taking with them. We’ll take that into account when we conduct our one-on-one questioning. _Nobody_ is cleared of suspicion yet.”

Many of the passengers glared around the room at each other. The culprit _was_ in the room - there was no doubt about it. And evidence of a wind-based ARMS attack to BYTE meant they must have been an ARMS user too. It was one of the ten fighters. That much was evident.

“Until we’re ready to begin our questioning, we ask that you all return to your own rooms. We’ll tolerate no more fighting, alright? Everyone go catch up on your sleep.”

“Finally.” Min Min groaned, getting to her feet and heading back to her room without even waiting for Ribbon Girl.

Ribbon Girl held back a moment, leaning over to Mechanica, who was still a little in shock from the sudden accusation. “We’ll sort everything out, Mechanica. I promise we won’t let them gang up on you like that again.”

She nodded silently, her eyes still wet and her lip quivering a bit. She quietly got up and began heading to her assigned room too, and Ribbon Girl did the same.

Ribbon Girl had expected to see Min Min in bed already when she got back to the room, but instead found her staring out the window to the sea, which was beginning to illuminate in the rising sunlight. “H-Hey, Min.”

Min Min sighed, pressing her head to the glass of the window, her body still trembling slightly. “Sorry for causing a scene or whatever. I just _knew_ they’d start pointing fingers the first chance they got.”

Ribbon Girl walked up behind her and began gently rubbing her back. “I don’t like this situation at all. A-And I can’t imagine how it must have been to find BYTE like that…”

Another deep sigh. “I’m tired. I’m cold. I’m all shaken up, and my head won’t stop aching about whether BYTE will be okay, or if anyone else is in danger, or - hell - if Ninjara really _was_ the one who did it or…”

“Well we don’t have all that much to go on just yet.” Ribbon Girl comforted. “Anyone could have brought wind gloves. Anyone could have lied about their gloves on the report! And hey, even I brought some Poppers. That doesn’t make me the prime suspect, right?” She winked to her, even though Min Min had her back turned.

She sighed. “Yeahhhhh… I guess it’s pointless to get all hung up on it now. We really should catch up on sleep while we have the chance.” She turned around and hugged Ribbon GIrl, before flopping herself back onto the bed. Ribbon Girl followed her, and a few short moments later they were both fast asleep.  
  


It came to about noon, and the two had thankfully found themselves much better rested than they had been that morning. Breakfast was brought to their door, given the circumstances, and they were asked to stay where they were until everyone had been questioned.

The two tried to keep the conversation away from the current ordeal with BYTE as best they could, though occasionally it would slip through whenever they brought up the train itself. For a massive locomotive, it was certainly _quiet_. It wasn’t bumpy or wobbly, and there was a pleasant pine smell throughout each cart - at least until you got to the dining cart around dinner time, or close enough to an open window to breathe in the salty seaside air.

“I expected mints on the pillow, honestly.” Min Min shrugged while looking over the playing cards she held. She drew the 3 of Spades from her hand and placed it face-up on the discarding pile.

“I’m not exactly sure what you mean by that.” Ribbon Girl glared at the 3 of Spades, then back at her cards again.

“Y’know, like how fancy hotels have the mints on the pillows? It’s like a little treat to welcome you to your room or something.”

“I brought a roll of mints with me, you could have just asked.” Ribbon Girl decided against the 3 of Spades and went to take a new card.

“It’s not the same!”

Ribbon Girl put the card she had just picked up into the discarding pile and sighed.

Min Min reached for a card but was interrupted by a knocking on the door. The two looked over to it, but not yet getting up for it. Min Min withdrew her mask from her pocket, intending to extend an ARM over to the doorknob, but Ribbon Girl jolted her wrist back angrily as a reminder that they weren’t supposed to be having their masks on.

Ribbon Girl got up to get the door as Min Min reluctantly put her mask away again. She peeked the door open a bit and saw a staff member facing back at her.

Min Min slowly got up to her feet and stretched as Ribbon Girl spoke to the staff member.

“Ah, Min? It’s your turn for the questioning.” Ribbon Girl mumbled, still a little uneasy with the topic itself.

“A-And if you could bring your gloves too, that’d be great.” The staff member smiled from the doorway.

Min Min stuck a hand under the bed and withdrew her glove case. She glanced at the top of it to be sure it was her own, and then headed for the door. “Back soon, hun.” She said, kissing Ribbon Girl’s cheek. “Don’t look at my cards.”

She shut the door behind her as she made her way through the train, accompanied by the staff member who had been sent for her. Ribbon Girl was now alone, and immediately went to check Min Min’s cards.

After a short while of being bored, she decided to prepare for her own round of questioning, which was sure to follow Min Min’s soon. As much as she could remember, the night before had been perfectly normal until she woke up hearing Min Min’s scream. Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary and she hadn’t heard anything from the neighbouring storage cart…

She continued to rack her mind as she knelt down to retrieve her glove case. This luxury room was generally given to Brass, who tends to be a loud and talkative guy… So maybe it had a good degree of soundproofing?

She put her case on the desk and sat down. The two of them hadn’t gone to bed _that_ late last night, so maybe they would have heard something had they still been awake? That’s if they could hear anything at all if the room was soundproofed after all. But surely the sound of a- _Wait._

Ribbon Girl’s heart froze as her eyes locked unblinkingly onto the latch of her glove case. The locks had been broken, as if forcibly yanked up and out from where they’d been sealed. She put her hand to her mouth, feeling sick. She opened the case and found her mask and all three gloves exactly where she had left them - her electrical Sparkies, her fiery Slapamanders, and her _wind-based Poppers_.

A little while passed and eventually Min Min returned, shutting the door behind her and acting pretty unconcerned. “Pretty sure you’re up soon, Ribs.” She yawned, heading over to Ribbon Girl at the desk. “They’re asking some pretty heavy questions so at least they’re taking this seriously. I reckon they’ve got a good shot of finding who-” She stopped as she reached Ribbon Girl and noticed the distressed look on her face. “Ribs...?”

Ribbon Girl slid her glove case more toward where Min Min could see it. “Someone broke into my glove case.” Her voice was dry and defeated. “They could have used _my_ ARMS to do it. Doesn’t matter what anyone else brought.”

Min Min felt her heart in her throat. “W-Wait, but you kept that under the bed?”

“Yeah.” Ribbon Girl stared at the desk.

“Th-They were in here?? While we were sleeping???” She shuddered, her eyes sprung wide, feeling disgusted.

There was a knock at the door. It was time for Ribbon Girl’s questioning. She quietly grabbed her case and begun to get up from where she sat.

About half an hour later everyone had been called back to the dining cart. They were better dressed, better rested, and ready to finally resolve this whole mess of a situation for good. Ribbon Girl and Min Min took their places opposite Mechanica again, though far more nervous for what was shortly to come than anyone else in the room seemed to be.

The train conductor, similarly nervous, once again took his place in front of the passengers. He cleared his throat and began his address. “T-To begin, I’d like to inform you all that, after further investigation on BYTE’s body, we’ve identified signs of an electrical-based attack sustained right before he was hit with the wind-based attack that removed his head.”

“Ah, so it was either Ribbon Girl or Twintelle. That was easy.” Ninjara shrugged.

Ribbon Girl stayed silent, but Twintelle scoffed. “You’re awfully quick to point the finger.”

“Just telling it like it is.” Ninjara rebutted. “It could only have been either of you, so-”

“A-Actually.” The conductor gulped. “We’ve learnt that Ribbon Girl’s glove case has had it’s lock broken since it was brought aboard the train. W-We believe the culprit used one of her Sparkies and Poppers to perform the attack. So… None of you can yet be cleared of suspicion.”

A loud sequence of moaning echoed throughout the cart as each fighter expressed their annoyance.

“This is just stupid.” Ninjara groaned. “How’d we know she didn’t just break the damn thing herself to keep the heat off of her?”

“Ribbon Girl was with me _all night_.” Min Min urged, far more level headed than she had been the night before.

“Well hold on now, how exactly did the culprit get to the case while the door was locked?” Master Mummy questioned.

“Maybe the intruder went…. In-tru-der window?” Lola joked, to no laughs.

“I think it’s worth noting that Twintelle played a spy in one of her last movies.” Kid Cobra slivered. “She could have picked the lock.”

“Oh pleaseeee.” Twintelle groaned, rolling her eyes. “Do you believe _everything_ you see on TV? And hey, while we’re at it, they were obviously quiet enough not to wake the girls so that’d put all your silent slivering in the spotlight, would it not?”

“ _Did_ you hear anything in the night?” Spring Man directed to Ribbon Girl and Min Min,

“N-No… But we’re both pretty heavy sleepers...” Min Min cringed awkwardly.

“Well, I have to say, shouldn’t this at least clear _me_ of suspicion?” Master Mummy presented, being much larger, heavier, and louder than the other fighters around him.

“Yeahhhhh, and my shoes squeak when I walk sooooo…” Lola stepped her foot on the floor repeatedly, giving off a little squeak each time.

Helix let out some strange blobby noises, likely because he didn’t really understand all the back-and-forth but felt he needed to contribute anyway. Twintelle pat him on his gooey back in response, and then wiped her hand clean on the nearby wall.

“I think it’s important, for now, to focus on finding a _motive_.” Master Mummy presented again. “I still don’t understand why any of us here would have done this, so if we find that reason… Maybe we’ll figure out who’s behind it all.”

“BYTE was patrolling the cargo cart, right?” Spring Man reminded everyone. “Maybe something has been taken from there?”

“Uhhh…” The conductor scratched the back of his head. “We’ve done an inventory check and everything is accounted for. T-Though we can’t be certain something wasn’t _tampered_ with. We really don’t know enough about the cargo to tell.”

“... Hm.” Min Min recalled the strange chamber BYTE has been leaning against. “I suppose they took BYTE’s head to stop him un-tampering stuff? It’s not like BARQ has a body, after all.” BARQ, who had been watching the room from a small distance away, rolled closer to her and whined. “Poor thing probably got hit by the Sparky before BYTE did.”

“Could we put BARQ on BYTE’s body?” Kid Cobra directed to Mechanica.

“Um, no, I don’t think so…” She replied sadly. “He connects with BYTE’s head when they do that rush move, so I don’t think he can connect while BYTE’s head is missing.”

Ribbon Girl lost herself in thought, staring out the window at the bright blue sea splashing far down beyond the tracks. The culprit could have hid BYTE’s head somewhere aboard the train to prevent him from checking all the cargo after he’d been attacked. That’d make sense, but… Wouldn’t it have made more sense to dispose of his head entirely? That’d stop him from being put back together and undoing whatever the culprit did. Plus, if he’d seen the culprit before he was attacked, he’d know who to arrest once he was back together again. It would have been safer for the culprit to throw BYTE’s head overboard… Down into the saltwater ocean… Which would have almost certainly destroyed it for good, not to mention render it lost forever. Ribbon Girl really didn’t like that thought.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Ninjara groaned, getting to his feet after growing tired of the constant back-and-forth between the fighters. “This investigation is going _nowhere_ , and we’re gonna wind up arriving at our destination long before this is all sorted. And then the criminal has a chance to escape!” He folded his arms meanicingly. “I say we take over the investigation ourselves.”

A number of fighters voiced their approval, making the various staff members begin to panic. “N-N-Now settle down!” The train conductor urged.

Master Mummy got to his feet and slowly approached the conductor, towering above him. “I don’t think you’re in a position to stop us.” He reminded him in a deep tone.

The conductor, visibly shaken, shut his mouth.


	4. Take Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a fun fact - today's my birthday! <3
> 
> The chapter after this one will end with the reveal of who's behind everything, so if you'd like to make your guesses as to who's the culprit please drop 'em in the comments after you've read this chapter~

“I want all the staff members to remain in the engine room until further notice.” Master Mummy commanded. “Ribbon Girl, I want you to go retrieve your glove case too.”

“Wait wait wait, have someone go with her.” Ninjara glared.

“Alright, Spring Man, accompany her. Min Min, go gather whatever files the staff have been holding. We need whatever we can get our hands on.”

Min Min headed off for the files, as Ribbon Girl (followed closely by Spring Man) left for her glove case.

The remaining fighters began to group the tables together, equipping their masks for ARMS assistance in doing so.

Ribbon Girl and Spring Man were the first to return, and Ribbon Girl was surprised to see everyone already in masks. “... I thought we were all supposed to keep our masks in our cases.”

“Oh please.” Twintelle smirked. “You actually listened to that?”

She sighed. “Am I the  _ only _ one who plays by the rules here?” She dropped her busted case on the table in front of Mechanica.

“Think it’s possible the lock was busted…  _ After _ it had been  _ picked? _ ” Kid Cobra posed, squinting at Twintelle from the corner of his eyes.

“And why would they do that if they were gonna break the lock anyway, snake boy?” Twintelle replied, rolling her eyes.

“Um… I-I’m pretty sure the lock was broken with a kind of… Um…. Snipping tool.” Mechanica mumbled nervously.

“Like bolt cutters or somethin’?” Master Mummy questioned.

Mechanica nodded quietly.

“... Did you bring bolt cutters with you, kid?” Twintelle poked, raising an eyebrow.

Mechanica reluctantly nodded.

Ninjara sighed. “Okay, Mummy, go take a look in her room and bring back any tools she has. Take Spring Man with you.” The two nodded and began to head out toward the sleeper carts. “Twintelle, see if you can get anything out of Helix. Maybe he saw or heard something.”

“You know he doesn’t exactly  _ speak _ , right?”

“Yeah but it’s still worth a shot, just see if he’s any help.”

She sighed and headed over to Helix’s table, just as Min Min entered holding a big stack of files. She dumped them all over the desk and glanced over at Ninjara, who went to go look at them.

Ribbon Girl approached Mechanica, who was still sat by the glove case looking shaken. “Hey Mechy, don’t worry, we’ll get all of this sorted. Yeah?”

Min Min joined them. “What’s the news…?”

“Mechy’s pretty sure the lock was broken by some bolt cutters… She took some with her, so people are kinda pointing the blame her way again.”

“Th-They’re just an ordinary part of my tool kit!” She insisted.

“Bolt cutters, eh?” Lola smirked, heading over and leaning herself on a chair. Min Min visibly winced. “I think I saw somethin’ like that around… Well, here, I think.” She looked to her shoulder, where a small blue ribbon was jutting out of her shirt. She began to pull at it, revealing it was tied to another ribbon - this one yellow - right after it. She continued to pull, revealing an unending sequence of colourful ribbons. “Boy, this could sure take a while!” She joked as she continued to pull.

Mechanica smiled, though Min Min was grinding her teeth together. “It’s not funnyyyyy.” She sighed.

“I think it’s funny!” Mechanica smiled at Min Min.

“Ah!” Lola removed the last of the ribbon and found it tied to a flower at the end. “Hm, well, how’d this get here?” She handed it to Mechanica, who looked right toward it as a sudden spout of water shot out from the stamen.

She flinched from the spray, before giggling and wiping her face dry. “You got me good there!”

“Just be glad it wasn’t a pie.” She winked, grinning. She caught Min Min in the corner of her eye and turned to her. Min Min had a most unimpressed look on her face. “Somethin’ wrong, Gumdrop? You’re lookin’ much more sour than sweet today.”

Min Min continued to stare, as if she was trying to look past the clown act and see the real Lola below. “... Did you do this?”

Lola Pop’s smile didn’t fade. “D’y’think I did?”

“I dunno.” She stared. “Maybe I’m just missing the joke.”

Lola didn’t fail for a moment to meet Min Min’s eyes right back. “ _ I am the joke, _ Min Min.” Her smile stood proud on her face, not wavering in the slightest. “Ha... Ha... Ha.”

Min Min shivered, turning away quickly. “Just… Cut it out with the gags while we’re investigating, ‘kay?” Ribbon Girl quietly removed the ‘kick me’ post-it note that had somehow silently wound up on Min Min’s back.

Master Mummy and Spring Man returned to the room, lugging along with them a large toolkit. “It’s sealed.” Master Mummy informed. “Doesn’t look like it’s been tampered with either.” He thunked it down on the desk with the files.

“Okay, kid, how’s this thing open?” Ninjara glared.

“I-I-I use my key…” Mechanica stumbled, retrieving the key from around her neck. She unlocked the case and opened it, revealing every one of her tools firmly in place where they were meant to be.

“That settles it then.” Ninjara shrugged. “Glove case opened with bolt cutters, bolt cutters found neatly where they ought to be - no signs of tampering.”

“This doesn’t prove anything.” Min Min humpfed.

“Doesn’t it? I mean, are we meant to believe the culprit snuck into her room too, stole her key  _ from around her neck _ while she slept, and when all was said and done went to put everything neatly back where it was?  _ Including the key back around her neck? _ Well why didn’t they take Ribs’ key too? Why bust that lock at all if this key was so easy to get?”

“ _ Enough, _ Ninjara.” Min Min insisted, getting agitated.

“I don’t think it  _ is _ enough, actually!” He grumped back. “ _ Plus _ she’s the only one with a credible motive we’ve covered already.”

“It’s. Not. Her.” She grunted through her teeth.

“I suppose, if it wasn’t the kid…” Twintelle chimed in, returning from a fruitless ‘conversation’ with Helix. “It’d have to have Ribbon Girl. It’s awfully convenient her case was broken, hiding the fact she brought the exact two ARMS needed.”

“W-Well you also brought the two ARMS needed!” Ribbon Girl glared back at Twintelle.

“Then why would I break your case?”

“Look, everyone,” Spring Man urged, trying to retain the peace. “If it wasn’t Mechanica then we need to figure out motives for who else it could have been, right?” He carefully stood himself between Min Min and Ninjara, helping to separate the two, who were still staring daggers at one another.

“Cryochamber.” Master Mummy blurted out from the nearby, file-ridden table. Everyone turned to look over at him, and slowly made their way over. “There’s something in the cargo cart referred to as a… ‘Cryochamber’.”

Min Min squinted. “That must have been that thing I saw in there...  Is that why it was so cold? I mean it was the dead of night but it was  _ freezing _ in there.”

Master Mummy shrugged. “I dunno, there’s not much info on it here, but you’d typically expect something ‘cryo’ to be cold.”

“We should take a closer look.” Ninjara recommended, his arms folded commandingly.   
  


The fighters headed to the back of the train where the cargo cart was situated. The sun had already set by now as they continued their journey over the ocean, but upon opening the door to the cargo cart Master Mummy actually took some time to look for a light switch - something Min Min wished she had done with hindsight back when she was following BARQ the night before.

With the carriage illuminated by the long white bulbs overhead, the team entered and gathered around in the space before the cryochamber. The entire cart was just as cold as it had been the night before, but thankfully everyone was dressed much more warmly than Min Min had been at the time.

“You weren’t kidding about the cold, Min Min.” Master Mummy said, clutching his shoulders as his breath appeared in quickly fading clouds. “This looks to be the cryochamber, though. Anyone have any idea what it is?”

Min Min bent down and put her hand against the chamber’s glass. It was still just as frosted over as it had been when she had found BTYE’s headless body leaning against it.

Spring Man gripped the door of the chamber and tried to lift it, struggling even with his ARMS outstretched. The door didn’t budge and inch.

“There’s a keypad…” Kid Cobra pointed out, directing attention to a small 12-button grid on the left hand side of the chamber’s door. A small display beside it showed a string of four hyphens, which lit into asterixis one by one as he pressed the squishy, frosted keys. ‘INCORRECT PIN’ the display replied after accepting the four random digits he entered.

“I take it the ARMS lab whitecoats are the only ones to know the code?” Twintelle sighed, rubbing her bare shoulders for warmth. “I don’t think we’re getting that thing open.”

“........ Hm.” Ninjara squinted as he looked over the keypad. “I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that the correct keycode could be obtained through some…  _ Hacking _ .” He turned to face Mechanica. “I doubt that would have been hard for  _ you _ .”

Her lip began to quiver again. “N-N-No! I wouldn’t even know where to begin with that, a-a-and even if I did I would never-”

“Well you’re not just a mechanic, are you?” He glared down. “You had to program that ARMS mech. You must have  _ plenty _ of experience with coding.” Nearby, Min Min clenched her teeth hard. “ _ You _ are the only one with a motive.  _ You _ are the only one who knows BYTE’s hardware.  _ Your _ bolt cutters were used to break Ribbon Girl’s case.  _ You _ -”

Min Min suddenly swooped in between the petrified Mechanica and Ninjara, who had been steadily approaching her. “I am  _ sick _ of you blaming her.” She said, getting right up in his face, clearing seething with rage. “You want to talk suspects? Alright.  _ You _ , Ninjara, are a ninja in training. Ninjas are known for  _ stealth _ . You could have easily snuck your way into any room on this train. And ninjas are also known for  _ sleight of hand _ . That’s how you could have swiped Mechanica’s key, and Ribbon Girl’s glove case.”

“I-”

Min Min cut him off again before he could even get a word out. “And you wanna talk motive? You sure?” She glared unblinkingly at him, her teeth chattering very slightly, not from the cold but from the immense anger coursing through her at that moment. “If you wanna talk motive then maybe it’s worth remembering that BYTE  _ wiped the floor with you _ in your last match. He damn near PERFECT’d you. You really think it’s ‘out of the realm of possibility’ that your  _ fragile little ego _ couldn’t have handled-”

Ninjara pushed Min Min back hard against the wall behind her, his face scrunched up in rage. He swung his extended ARM back behind him with his hand balled into a fist - no glove equipped.

Before his ARM could coil back toward Min Min, he himself was suddenly pushed from his right. He thumped down to the cold metal floor and looked back up to where he’d been pushed, only to find Ribbon Girl standing there with her own ARMS extended.

Ninjara clenched his fist again and prepared to lunge forward at her, but was suddenly stopped by two hands gripping him just below the shoulders. “Calm down!” Spring Man pleaded, restraining him tightly.

Likewise, Master Mummy had put himself between Ninjara and Ribbon Girl, and was keeping Ribbon Girl at bay. “No. Fighting.” He commanded, swifting his eyes across each fighter in the room. Kid Cobra, in an effort to seem helpful, lazily extended an arm in front of Min Min, blocking her from getting up and fighting back on the off chance she chose to do so, despite the fact she was staying firmly on the floor where she had fallen to anyway.

“Ugh.” Twintelle scoffed, crossing her arms as she rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You’re all such children. If you’re going to fly off the handle like that at the slightest provocation you shouldn’t have the ARMS ability at all.”

Helix blobbed sadly at what he was seeing.

“Alright, look.” Master Mummy puffed, equally disappointed at a fight had broken out. “I’ve had enough of this. This investigation is officially  _ over _ . We’ll let the police and ARMS lab look into this once we arrive at our destination.”

“The whole point of doing this ourselves was to find the culprit before they had a chance to escape!” Ninjara groaned back.

“We know the culprit must have the ARMS ability, which narrows it down to one of us ten. If one of us makes a run for it once we’re back on land, we know they’re guilty.” He slowly lowered his guard from around Ribbon Girl, who had calmed down a good deal. “For now, all of us should stay to ourselves. Got it? Everyone in their rooms. We’ll have two staff members in each carriage too, to ensure no one tries to go elsewhere.”

Ribbon Girl helped Min Min up, who was rubbing her back where she’d fallen against the wall.

“Alright, but…” Kid Cobra slivered a little nervously, not wanting to stoke the fires that had fueled the fight before. “I’m not saying Mechanica  _ is _ the culprit, but maybe she shouldn’t be left alone with her mech. Y’know… Just in case?”

“I’m with snake boy on that one.” Twintelle shrugged. “But then I suppose the fair thing would be to pool our masks together too, so  _ no one _ can use their ARMS for the remained of the trip.”

“Then everyone will be… ‘ARM-less.” Lola chimed, to which everyone else ignored.

“Alright, that sounds agreeable.” Master Mummy nodded. “In the interest of being fair, we’ll have our masks stay with the train driver. We’ll give them our glove cases too, while we’re at it. Everyone on board with that?”

Some generally unenthusiastic approvals followed from the group.

“What do we do about squishy?” Kid Cobra asked has he motioned toward Helix. “He can’t take his mask off, right?”

“Can you keep an eye on him, Twintelle?” Master Mummy requested.

She didn’t look all too pleased, but agreed anyway. “I suppose I can manage that. But I’ll be charging the ARMS lab if he gets goo over my clothes.”

The fighters slowly left the freezing cargo cart in an orderly fashion, all worn out from the mess of a situation that had just unfolded. Each made for their own rooms, except Helix who followed Twintelle to her’s, and Master Mummy, who made his way to the front of the train to update the staff on things and hand them their masks and gloves, as well as Mechanica’s mech which he stopped for along the way.   
  


The night continued on and dinner was delivered to each room individually. Ribbon Girl and Min Min, who were once again trying to ignore the events of their journey, ate quietly together at the desk they had been playing cards at before. It was actually rather romantic for the two of them, alone together having dinner on luxury train at night.

After returning their finished plates to one of the staff members situated outside their accommodation, the two sat down on the bed, sighing with exhaustion. The train was just entering the frozen tundra now, leaving behind the expansive ocean it had spent so much time travelling above. They had had plenty of time to calm down about the events that unfolded earlier, so when the topic arose they chose not to shy away from it.

“How’s your back…?” Ribbon Girl asked, concerned.

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” Min Min reassured. “It was just a bit of a thump, it wasn’t that bad.”

“Well I still wanna see.” She pouted back.

Reluctantly, Min Min turned away and lifted her shirt up. There were small red patches where she had collided with the wall, but it didn’t look like it was anything serious. The bruises would probably fade over the next two days or so.

“Someone should tell him how stupid his swim goggles look.” Ribbon Girl muttered about the chains on Ninjara’s mask as she glared at the marks on Min Min’s back he had given her.

Min Min snorted. “You are still  _ so _ pissed.”

“He pushed you!” She retorted loudly, her mouth ajar, in disbelief. “I mean I knew he had an ego but  _ god _ , what a child.”

Min Min laughed more. “When we got back here you were all like ‘how  _ DARE _ he!!’” She giggled. “You couldn’t sit still for a second.”

“He is  _ definitely _ off the Christmas card list.”

“Good! Take everyone else off too while you’re at it. You have  _ got _ to stop doing Christmas cards, Ribs. You aren’t an old lady.”

Ribbon Girl rolled her eyes. She gently pressed her hand to Min Min’s back, rubbing at it slowly. “Lie down. I’ll give you a massage~”

“Oooh? Didn’t realize my birthday had come around early~” Min Min complied, laying herself face-down on the bed.

“You’re hurt! It’s my duty as your girlfriend to un-hurt you.” She pressed both her hands flat onto Min Min’s back now.

“Un-hurt? Well, better a masseuse than an English teacher I suppose.” She closed her eyes and relaxed. “Still… This whole business with BYTE and that cryochamber thing… I just can’t get it out of my mind. It  _ had _ to be an ARMS user, so that leaves it to one of us ten…”

“Well.” Ribbon Girl shrugged as she began rubbing Min Min’s back. “One of the other eight, if we excuse us two.”

Min Min pouted against the pillow. “Ninjara’s definitely a suspicious asshole who’s super quick to pin the blame on Mechy. Plus that whole losing-to-BTYE thing would be enough of a motive, I mean you saw how fragile his ego is.” She sighed deeply. “But then again, there are still seven other fighters who it could have been. Twintelle is an actress so who knows if her reaction to all this has been genuine. Lola still gives me the creeps. And I guess Cobra could sneak around unnoticed without his skater gear on, so there’s that too.”

“I don’t feel like there’s a lot of evidence on Mummy, but he  _ is _ a smart guy. I dunno. Could have orchestrated this whole thing.” She dug her palms into Min Min’s sides as she pushed. “My dad always said not to trust the smart ones.”

“Mm. Then there’s Spring Man, who could just be working with Ninjara. And Helix, who’s probably not clued up enough to have planned all this, but could probably have slipped under the door frames.”

“Could be Brass. Maybe he snuck on the train somehow and has been hiding out of sight.” Min Min snorted in response. “Yeah… Maybe not.” Ribbon Girl smiled to the back of Min Min’s head. “But I guess that does leave… Mechanica.”

Min Min didn’t respond for a moment. “... And what do you think about that?”

She thought for a second. “I seriously doubt she’d ever do anything like this. Like…  _ Really _ doubt it.” She bit her lip. “... But I suppose of anyone she does have the most evidence pointing toward her. I mean, with the bolt cutters and the whole hardware knowledge and stuff…”

“Yeah. I’d be lying if I said that hadn’t crossed my mind too.” She sighed. “But as far as that lot are considered, I’m  _ certain _ she’s innocent. I just know they’d go on a witch hunt if I told them I had doubts.”

“Mm.”

“Higher.”

“Hm? Oh, right!” Ribbon Girl slid her arms higher up on Min Min’s back.

“Mmmmmm, that’s it. Just there.”

Ribbon Girl smiled as she upped the pressure a bit. “You should get thrown around more often if you like it so much.”

“I get thrown around for a living, Ribs!” Min Min reminded her.

“Oh yeah? Didn’t realize that’s how it was in the ramen business.”

“You are  _ so _ snarky.” She laughed back.

“Well I know you like a  _ rude _ girl~”

“Oh I do~” Min Min replied and she flipped herself over in place, so she was facing belly up. “It’s pretty hot.”

Ribbon Girl leant herself over Min Min more, until they were at each other’s eye level. “Hot?~”

“Mmmhmm~” She moaned, biting her lip. 

Ribbon Girl grinned, before leaning in and pressing her lips against Min Min’s. The two kissed slowly as they lay against each other, illuminated by the moonlight seeping from the open windows, and the soft orange glow of a small bedside lamp turned to the wall.

Min Min moved her hand slowly to hold the back of Ribbon Girl’s head, holding her into the kiss. Ribbon Girl, in turn, moved her hand to-

There was a shriek from the back of the train. The two stopped their kiss suddenly and froze in place, eyes locked in the direction of the shriek. They hopped up to their feet again, with Min Min lowering her shirt, and quietly made it over to the cabin door.

After a moment of caution Min Min opened the door ajar and peered her head out. She looked at first to door at the back, leading to the cargo cart, and then in the opposite direction, where she saw Spring Man and Ninjara similarly looking out of their rooms. From the door at the back of the cart on that end came Master Mummy, who headed in after hearing the shriek.

The five of them - Ribbon Girl, Min Min, Spring Man, Ninjara, and Master Mummy - all made their way to the cargo cart without a word, abandoning their agreement to stay situated in their rooms temporarily while they checked out the source of the shriek.

The space between the carts was, as always, blaringly cold in the night air. Even more so now that the train had passed into the arctic. But what was about to follow in the cargo cart was, as they had previously experienced, about to be colder. The five of them braced for the cold and opened the door to the last carriage.

In here stood a staff member pressing herself against the wall, terrified beyond belief at what she was seeing ahead of her. A strange and bulky figure was emerging from the cryochamber, which was now open.  
  
The carriage was icy cold. But suddenly, out of nowhere, it became  _ immensely _ colder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Reminder to make your guesses in the comments thanks <3)


	5. Snowman

“I-I-I didn’t touch it!!” The staff woman stammered in fear. “I-I-It just opened on its own!”

“Get to the back of the train!” Ribbon Girl urged. “L-Leave this thing to use!” The cold air was making her shiver.

The woman sprinted off behind the five and straight out through door. The figure stood atop the cryochamber seemed to have mechanical legs, though not outworldly robotic like BYTE’s. They seemed more like the legs of a shop window mannequin, but with more of a deep purple tone to them. And on its feet were… Pink slippers? Hm.

The figure had been facing to the back of the train, but slowly began to turn in place to face the five fighters observing it. It’s upper body, from its waist to its head, seemed to be made of… Snow? Like a snowman stacked upon a shop window dummy’s legs. A red beanie sat at the top of its head, with a white pom pom adorned above it. Below the beanie was what appeared to be a pair of ski goggles, with an orange tint to the visor.

It cocked its head to one side. It’s upper body, from its shoulders down to about mid-waist, was a long and winding scarf striped with red and orange. The scarf began to twist slightly as the two ends emerged from either side of its shoulders, stretching out into-

........ Oh. Those are ARMS.

Min Min cleared her throat nervously. “Is now a good time t-to remind everyone that we gave our masks up?”

“Shhhh…” Master Mummy quietly posed, extending a hand over in Min Min’s direction as a dismissal. “It’s not… Necessarily… Dangerous…” He looked over the Snowman carefully.

The ends of the Snowman’s scarf were graced with what appeared to be typical ARMS gloves, though with a wintery edge to them. On its right ARM was a Seekie, though white in tone with a crude blue face sketched onto it. A yeti, perhaps? A… Yetie? On the other was a red cylinder with a handle - rather like a coffee mug - though given the theming maybe hot cocoa would have been more accurate. But if the right glove was a modified Seekie, what was this one? Some sort of Whammer/Kerblammer? But it was vertical on the end of the scarf, not horizontal. And that opening…

The cocoa mug twisted in place and angled itself toward the fighters, with its opening pointed right at them. The interior of it was a deep brown - definitely coffee or cocoa or some sort of nice warm beverage. Then the opening began to light up, as if some sort of energy were being created in the-

_ Oh, it’s a Dragon _ .

The blast emerging from it shot out in a thick laser, but the five of them managed to jump out of the way quickly enough to avoid it. The Snowman shrieked and turned away, directing its attention back again to the door at the end of the carriage. Without warning it lunged itself over to it at top speed, smashing through the train door’s window, but catching itself with its scarf ARMS before it fell to the tracks below. It climbed its way up the side of the train and onto the roof, where it began stomping down the length of the train.

The five left the cargo cart and headed back into the sleeper carts, following it through the length of the train from below. Mechanica was at her door, nervously peering out. “A-Are those footsteps…?” She asked nervously, looking up at the ceiling.

The five continued past, taking Mechanica with them, and slowly taking the other fighters one-by-one as they passed by.

“This big Snowman…  _ Thing _ came out of that cryochamber.” Ninjara explained as they headed to the engine room.

“A  _ snowman? _ ” Twintelle scoffed. “Wouldn’t a snowman be blown away instantly by the train’s momentum? And what does any of this have to do with BYTE’s missing head?”

“Nothing! ...I think?  _ Is _ it unrelated?” Spring Man asked, mainly directed to Master Mummy.

“Can’t say for sure. But this certainly takes the focus right now - we need our masks back, pronto.”

“Uhhh… Guys?” Mechanica squeaked as they passed into the dining cart. “I-It’s snowing pretty heavily out there…”

They all paused for a moment to peer out the window. The snowfall was  _ very _ heavy, and just moments before it hadn’t even been snowing at all.

“Do you think that  _ thing _ is making it snow?” Kid Cobra asked, baffled.

“We have to hurry.” Master Mummy insisted, as they head off again to the engine room.

The staff gathered within were also grouped up by the windows, and clearly seemed distressed. The train driver seemed especially concerned.

“We need our masks.” Master Mummy insisted. “There’s a  _ thing _ on top of the train. It came out of a chamber in the cargo carriage and it has ARMS.”

One of the staff members jolted quickly over to a nearby room to fetch the masks and associated glove cases. The train driver, at his post by the train’s console, hurriedly turned to the fighters behind him. “Is that thing responsible for the snow? These conditions are  _ far _ too dangerous to be travelling in, let alone at this kinda speed. But I can’t slow us down - the tracks are getting too slippery! We could derail at any second!”

The gravity of the situation struck everyone at once. “How much damage would it cause to the surrounding area if we derailed…?” Master Mummy asked, fearing the worst.

“Well as soon as we reach civilization a derailing could do tremendous damage and likely collide with nearby people.” He shook slightly. “But we’re still some time off from the town. At the minute we’re still in no man’s land.”

“Snowman’s land.” Lola Pop nervously corrected, against her better judgement. “...S-Sorry.”

A staff member returned with the masks they had taken from the fighters, and begun to hand them out.

“Alright, we need a plan.” Master Mummy began. “We-”

“Shh! Not now!” Min Min grunted down at her side. A small barking sound effect played from BARQ, who seemed to be pestering Min Min.

“Cobra.” Master Mummy addressed, turning toward him. “You’re used to keeping stance at high speeds when snakeboarding. Think you can stand your ground on the roof of the train?”

“I can try.” He nodded.

“Equip your Hydra and try to blast the Snowman as much as you can. I reckon it’ll be weak to heat.” He turned to face Twintelle. “I’ll need you up there too. Your ARMS are in your hair, so you’ve got both your hands to help you hold on. You can take my Phoenix.”

“Gotcha.” She replied casually, equipping the Phoenix she’d been given.

“I’ll head to the roof too, since I’m the heaviest of us all. I’ll use Retorchers.” He equipped his gloves as he geared up to leave. “It’ll be bad news if any of us fall off. It’s soft snow all around us, but that’ll only do so much to soften the fall. And I imagine that thing’s gonna be fighting back, too. So always keep one ARM on the train and fight with the other, got it?”

Nods from Kid Cobra and Twintelle.

“Mechanica, get in your mech. You can head to the back and grab onto the train. Try to slow it down by blasting your thrusters in the opposite direction. Got it?”

She nodded, but Min Min wasn’t as quick to accept that. “Wait wait wait, that’s not safe at all. If she loses her grip she’s gonna collide with the tracks while in a big  _ breakable _ metal shell.” She nudged off BARQ again, who was still bothering her.

“Alright - Lola, go with Mechanica and keep an extended grip on her and the train interior. On the off chance you both get ejected, pull her close and do your best to bounce safely.”

“Sounds like fun.” She shrugged.

“Helix, you accompany Mechanica to the back of the train and act as a parachute for it to reduce the train’s speed.” Helix blobbed randomly in response. “Uhh… Twintelle, make sure he got all that.”

Twintelle rolled her eyes and began talking to Helix in short, simple terms, with hand gestures to help him understand.

“As for the rest of you…” Master Mummy folded his ARMS. “Bust the windows out and dangle from them, securing yourselves to the train with one ARM gripping the interior. With your other ARM, use a fire-attack to thaw the tracks as best you can. Ribbon Girl and Min Min on starboard with Dragon and Slapamander respectfully. Then Spring Man and Ninjara on port with Toaster and Min Min’s Ramram. Sound good?”

Nods all ‘round, except from Min Min, who gave another big hush to BARQ beside her.

“What does he want…?” Mummy asked.

“I don’t know! He’s been pestering me since we arrived here.” She grunted. “There’s a time and a place, BARQ!”

“Follow him.” Mummy requested. “Quickly see what he wants and then meet back at starboard with Ribbon Girl.”

“Gotcha.” She nodded back, quickly opening her glove case to pass her Ramrams to Ninjara. The two exchanged a glance, as this was their first interaction since their fight in the cargo cart, but it was clear both were willing to put it behind them while they dealt with the Snowman. Min Min gave a kiss to Ribbon Girl and then turned back to BARQ. “Lead the way, pup!”

“Right, everyone head to your places. We’re stopping this train!” Master Mummy clapped his hands together, adjourning the meeting and sending everyone off.

Min Min rushed to the back of the train as BARQ lead her there. All the way back in the cargo cart, BARQ stopped just short of the open cryochamber, and continued to play barking sound effects.

“What is it, boy?” She looked into what she  _ thought _ was the empty chamber. “.... Oh!” BYTE’s head was laying inside. She picked it up quickly, just as Mechanica entered with her mech. “Mechy!” She pushed her hands out, showing her the head. “We’ve got the head! Can you reattach it?”

“O-Oh!!” She smiled back, having been so wrapped up in this Snowman situation she had almost forgotten about BYTE’s fate. “Yeah! He could be a huge help if we can get him working.”

“I’ll get blobby boy set up if you two wanna skedaddle.” Lola winked.

The two quickly set off back to the front of the train again, which was admittedly pretty exhausting for Min Min as she’d made that length a handful of times at this point. She silently cursed Mechanica for having a mech to take her the distance.

The two came across no other fights on their way back to the engine room, as they had all gone into their set places. They could hear Master Mummy’s footsteps on the ceiling above.

Upon entering the engine room, Min Min passed BYTE’s head to Mechanica, who began work on reconnecting it. It was remarkably easy to do and thankfully didn’t take much time at all. For a moment they thought something hadn’t gotten connected quite right, but then BTYE suddenly turned to face them.

“... Hello, citizens.” He greeted in monotone.

The two smiled brightly up at him. Min Min wanted to give him a hug, but figured this wasn’t the best time. “It’s a long long story, but the gist of it is that you got attacked and they nabbed your head. Do you remember who attacked you…?”

BYTE took a moment, as if checking back in his memory logs. “Negative. Electrical-attack sustained to the back while optics were pointed in the opposite direction.”

“Guess that’s a no, then. Damn. Okay, well, more pressing matters at the minute - we need your help!”

Min Min explained quickly that the cyrochamber had opened and a Snowman figure with ARMS had emerged, which was now causing a blizzard around the train in an effort to seemingly derail it.

BYTE stood up, quietly pat BARQ on the head to the tune of a happy bark sound effect, and equipped himself with Crackers. “I will join the efforts on the roof of the train. Good luck.” And with that, he head off.

“We’re nearing the town, guys!” The concerned train driver shouted from across the engine room.

“Right!” Min Min clapped. “Now let’s get back to work…” The two dashed back through the train. Min Min split from Mechanica as she passed the window where Ribbon Girl was hanging, and Mechanica made the distance to the back of the train again to join Helix and Lola in slowing the locomotive down.

Hot torrents of ARM energy smacked against the train rails below from the four fighters situated at the windows.

At the back, Mechanica clung hard to the exterior of the train and boosted all she had in the opposite direction, as Helix hung above like a squishy green parachute, and Lola supported Mechanica from within the cargo carriage.

And atop the train, Master Mummy, Kid Cobra, and Twintelle were fighting tirelessly to stop the Snowman clung to the snowy top of the engine room’s roof before them, doing their best to hang on tight while avoiding the Yeties and the blasts of Hot Cocoa sent their way. Like the return of an old friend in your most desperate hour, BYTE suddenly joined them with an air of lawful justice.

And it was working! The train was gradually getting slower and slower. The driver at the front pressed hard on the breaks, and with the efforts of every ARMS fighter present, the train eventually came to a complete halt about a mile before their intended destination station - the one they would have blitzed right past  _ and through _ into a derail had they not stopped things just in time.

The Snowman seemed dazed and exhausted, as if it had never expected the train to stop, and flopped itself off of the train’s roof to the snow below. BYTE followed it down and extended an ARM around it, coiling it up until it was sufficiently restricted, and then disconnected the ARM, declaring the Snowman under arrest for intention of train derailment and unauthorized use of ARMS for hostile intent outside of an arena.

The other ten fighters dropped down to the ground too, each praising themselves for a job well done, as the staff of the Extravagant Express also disembarked the locomotive with cheers of approval.

Master Mummy, who was the only one not smiling, turned to face Twintelle, who was clapping quietly beside the exterior of the train. Without a word he suddenly grabbed her around the neck, firmly holding her up against the side of the train.

“Ack! L-Let go of me, you brute!” Twintelle grunted, her tiny flesh hands trying to pull as Master Mummy’s ARM hand.

Everyone around fell into silence as they watched him pin her. “W-Woah, Mummy, what the hell??” Ninjara shouted, as just one of the many stunned fighters.

“The Phoenix is a fire-attribute variant of the Thunderbird.” He explained. “And Twintelle has been using Thunderbirds for years now.” His grip tightened around her. “ _ So why did she miss every damn shot she took against the Snowman?"   _ A look of heavy betrayal grew stronger on Master Mummy's face. "She  _wanted_ that train to derail."

Silence continued across the snowfield until Twintelle, still pinned to the trainside… Dropped her act.  
  
She rolled her eyes. “Oh  _ fine _ . I suppose my plan failed anyway. Cats out of the bag now.” She gave a small smile, as if proud of herself. “Yes...  _ I killed BYTE _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like the who has been revealed, but you've still got a chance to answer how and why... Leave your theories in the comments below :)
> 
> Oh and of course, please do be careful to avoid mentioning the culprit's identity in the comments of any of the earlier chapters. Thank you!


	6. Antagonist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the final chapter - the full details of the plan and motive!
> 
> Don't forget the epilogue that follows, it'll be up immediately after this one <3

“I mean, ‘killed’ is a silly word. He’s standing right there, after all.” She motioned with her eyes toward where BYTE was stood. “I didn’t  _ kill _ him, I just… Incapacitated him.” She grunted in place a little. “Can you seriously get this blunky hand off of me? I do need to be able to  _ breathe _ if I want to tell you anything.”

Master Mummy used his other hand to remove Twintelle’s mask, before quietly removing his hand from her neck. “There are 10 of us here watching you, so don’t move a muscle.”

“Yeah yeahhhh.” She groaned, rubbing her neck. “Where was I?”

“You were about to try and justify why you put us all through hell.” Min Min glared.

“You’re such a drama queen. But alright, fine. Here’s how it all went down…”

_ About six or seven months ago I noticed a trend among ARMS matches. Specifically that the viewership for each match was getting lower and lower - people were becoming disinterested in ARMS fighting. It was getting stale. Sure, the viewership went up a bit when Brass came back, but it seemed like most people still weren’t interested in tuning in for it. They just figured it’d be another easy win for him, just as every Brass championship fight had been up until that point. _

_ I knew that wasn’t enough to keep people’s attention. I knew the addition of new fighters was also not going to be enough. No, what ARMS needed was  _ **_unpredictability_ ** _. Something to really keep people glued to their screens. _

_ So I first tested that theory on the day of the championship fight. I mean, I didn’t expect Ribbon Girl to actually win - props to you on that one, darling - but all the same I knew that  _ **_my_ ** _ intervention would remain the highlight of the evening. The viewership started out poor, rose a little when Ribbon Girl appeared to have a chance, and then  _ **_skyrocketed_ ** _ when Hedlok turned up. _

“Wait.” Spring Man paused. “You built Hedlok…?”

Twintelle rolled her eyes. “No, dummy. I broke into the ARMS lab and let him lose. I learnt all manner of silent spy work, lockpicking, and basic hacking for a movie role just a couple months prior.”

“ _ I knew it! _ ” Kid Cobra gleed.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

_ I set Hedlok loose on the championship battle and the ratings soard. Manifique! But something more was needed. What was the ARMS league  _ **_missing?_ ** _ ...Bingo:  _ **_a villain._ ** _ Every great story has one. Why should ours be any different? _

_ Hedlok was too mindless - too simple - to be a good fit. But as I rummaged around more through the ARMS lab files that they’re apparently just fine with leaving sprawled out on their desks I found a little something called  _ **_OPERATION SNOWFALL_ ** _. A new ARMS fighter in the same vein as Helix, but built from the ground up with a focus on ice abilities. He was supposed to debut as the final opponent of this upcoming tournament. From then on he’d likely just be like Helix - another neutral party, and a total snoozefest to the viewers. But I had  _ **_much_ ** _ bigger plans for him… _

_ Snowman was to be transported to the stadium via the Extravagant Express alongside all other ARMS fighter participants. A train just  _ **_screams_ ** _ ‘derail me!’ to a villain, so that’s how we get things started. I reprogrammed him through some simple commands I found in some documents lying around so that he would immediately create a blizzard upon waking up, attempt to derail whatever transport he was on if he was on one, and attack any and all people within a certain range. Next I swiped the passcode for the cryochamber, as well as instructions on how to reprogram the timer. _

_ On the first night of the trip, when everyone else was sound asleep, I would just have to get to the cryochamber and set the timer to open the following night. They check the display before parting with the chamber, of course, so I couldn’t have set it beforehand. Snowman wakes up, gets on the roof, derails the train. Soft snow all around, we’re probably only looking at minor injuries for the most part, but possibly some good collateral damage too. _

“And then the Snowman is decommissioned and destroyed.” Ninjara butted in, his ARMS folded. “So your plan for a villain was pointless.”

Twintelle sighed. “Are you that dense? Snowman was  _ not _ the villain I was trying to create.  _ Mechanica _ was.”

“Wh-Wh-What??” Mechanica stammered. Everyone seemed in disbelief.

_ A malfunctioning piece of ARMS lab equipment doesn’t help the ARMS league in the long run. Hedlok proved that much. But what if the Snowman wasn’t let out by an error, but specifically by a person with malicious intent? _

_ A little kid scorned by the lack of the gift of ARMS! She builds a mechanical suit for a chance at competing, but it’s just not enough. She doesn’t have actual ARMS. She doesn’t have the gift. So, to spite us all, she tries to off us all with hacked ARMS lab equipment and a derailing train. Now  _ **_that_ ** _ is a villainous plan! _

_ And before you ask,  _ **_yes_ ** _ , she would have been arrested once it was properly assumed she was the culprit. But the story would do wonders for the ARMS league - enough for me to step in and sort out some wriggle room in her sentencing. She runs a short prison stay and then emerges to my open arms, offering to get her back in the spotlight as a villainess looking to rival the others. Suddenly the ARMS league has a faces and heels system!  _ **_Exactly_ ** _ the kind of oomph it needed. _

“You’re a sick bitch.” Min Min glared, teeth gritted.

“Drama. Queen.” Twintelle shrugged back.

“So where does BYTE come into all of this...?” Questioned Master Mummy.

“Well it does sound like she bit off more than she could chew.” Lola quipped, which actually received a handful of chuckles from across the fighters at Twintelle’s expense.

“Oh alright, you want the play-by-play? Fiiine.” Twintelle sighed.

_ I break into the ARMS lab looking for something to spark the creation of a villain. I unleash Hedlok to test the waters, I study up on how Snowman works, blah blah blah… _

_ I begin to get closer with Helix. That’s an important step I figured out early on, and some behavioural analysis documents from the ARMS lab helped to make that work. By the time we boarded the train he would do whatever I asked on a whim. He’s also not a threat to my plan, since he’s too ditzy to blow my cover. Perfect. _

_ Night falls on the journey. Everyone is in bed, sound asleep. I take Helix with me through to the first sleeper cart, hovering most of the way there to keep silent. When we reach the champion’s suite I have Helix slip out through the window, over the train, and in through the open window in the suite. He’s so flexible and silent, he’s the perfect accomplis. _

It never even crossed Ribbon Girl or Min Min’s minds that the open window could have been involved, given that they were over the sea for the duration of their journey.

_ Helix picks up Ribbon Girl’s case, quietly takes it back out through the window and over the train, and then hands it to me. I pull out some bolt cutters that I brought with me - ones identical to those in Mechanica’s set, which I had arranged beforehand - and snip the locks open. Now it looks like Ribbon Girl’s gloves were used in the attack, so no one expects it was me because why would I use Ribbon Girl’s gloves instead of my own? That entire detail was set up just to take eyes off of me. In actuality I  _ **_did_ ** _ use my own. _

_ I throw my bolt cutters out of the window and Helix returns the broken glove case to beneath the suite’s bed where the two lovebirds were sleeping. He then returns to me and I send him back to his room - his role is done. _

_ Next, I equip my mask and my gloves - a Thunderbird and a Parasol, two I’m very familiar with. I time my entry into the cargo carriage carefully to make sure BYTE’s back is turned when I enter. His movements are mechanical and  _ **_noisy_ ** _ , so it wasn’t hard to time it right. _

_ I open the door and send my thunderbird through both of them, stunning them in place. My parasol follows and collides with the base of his neck, where I hold it in place as it screws his head off. If I had just stunned him while I reset the cryochamber’s timer, he likely would have check for tampering once he regained attention. So he needed to be put out of the way. _

_ Now, BYTE is no ordinary policebot - he’s an ARMS fighter. That means losing him would negatively affect the ARMS league. So rather than disposing of his head, I choose to instead plant it in the cryochamber after I’m done resetting the timer. Saves him holding a capable investigation. Of course, had he actually seen me before I was able to stun him, I would have thrown his head overboard. It just wasn’t necessary. _

Ribbon Girl felt a little sick. She had looked up to Twintelle to a degree, and now she was watching her explain how she effectively killed her good friend.

_ So! BYTE’s head is out of the way in the cyrochamber, BARQ is stunned until I can leave the crime scene, and Snowman is set to awaken early and derail the train. The blame instantly falls on the kid as she’s the only one with an understandable motive, the detail of BYTE hardware vs. her own hardware adds an additional secondary motive, her bolt cutters appeared to have been used to steal the ‘murder’ weapons… And if any focus began to shift onto other present fighters, I could easily shift it back on her. The perfect plan. _

_ And if you  _ **_were_ ** _ to have stopped Snowman, as you did, I didn’t expect it to matter at all. An attempt at making a train derail is near enough to actually making it happen, just with less… Oomph. And I guess that was my downfall, in the end. We were  _ **_so close_ ** _ to derailing there, just a little more effort on Snowman’s part and we’d have sped right past the station and through the stoppers at the end. I craved that oomph, so I did my best not to impede Snowman’s efforts. I was hoping the others would be too focused on staying gripped to the train to notice me pulling my punches, but oh well. _

She shrugged her shoulders and winked one eye closed. “I guess that means…  _ I _ am the villain now.” She smiled coyly.

“The only thing you are is  _ a stone cold bitch _ .” Min Min shouted angrily. “How  _ dare _ you setup Mechanica like tha-”

“Negative.” BYTE interrupted, placing a hand on Min Min’s shoulder. “Twintelle is also…………………………….. Arrested.” He extended his ARM around Twintelle and restrained her, disconnecting his ARM once in place.

“Mm, I figured that was coming.” Twintelle sighed. “Guess I’ll prepare myself to put on the water works for the press. It’ll be quite a beautiful spin, I promise~”

“Ughhhh!” Min Min growled. Ribbon Girl put an arm around her.

“So… Um… Should we also arrest Helix or…?” Spring Man asked.

“He doesn’t really seem to understand what he’s done.” Ninjara shrugged. “I guess we’ll just have to bring it up with the ARMS lab later. Besides, BYTE only has two ARMS.”

“Oi!” Min Min nodded toward Ninjara. “I think you owe someone an apology.”

Ninjara sighed to himself, a little embarrassed. “I’m… I’m sorry I pushed you like that.”

“No, y’idiot.” Min Min glared. “I meant for blaming Mechanica.”

He seemed a little surprised, not having put two and two together yet that he had fallen straight into Twintelle’s plan. He turned to Mechanica and quietly nodded. “I… I’m sorry for accusing you. She did her best to frame you, so it was hard to see past everything she planted.”

Mechanica gave a little nod, as if to say ‘apology acknowledged’, but not necessarily accepted. This whole ordeal had been pretty stressful, after all.

“I think we all owe Mechanica a big thank you.” Master Mummy said, folding his ARMS. “You all saw how close we were to the end of the station. And I’m sure Mechancia’s efforts did the most out of all of us to slow the locomotive.”

Mechanica blushed. “Th-Thank you…”

Several cars, fitted with snow tires, rolled up to the train. It seems one of the staff members called for police and explained the gist of the events that had unfolded. Twintelle was taken away, though already with an entirely new and fictional demeanour that helped to make her out to be far more sympathetic than she was, and the rest of the ARMS fighters were taken the rest of their journey by car to the luxury hotel by the stadium.


	7. Epilogue

“I was surprised, honestly.” Ribbon Girl admitted as she looked over the cards in her deck. “I mean I wasn’t really set on anyone yet, but I was leaning more toward Ninjara than Twintelle. Hell, I think I suspected Master Mummy more than her.” She put a card down on the hotel room table and drew another from the deck.

“Toward the end there I was trying to figure out how the Snowman could have done it from within that chamber. That or maybe one of the staff did it somehow, maybe with some sorta artificial ARMS.” Min Min rolled the hotel pillow mint around in her mouth. “Man, why didn’t we consider that? The staff said ‘they used ARMS to do it’ and we just ruled ‘em all out. That was dumb.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t a staff member in the end!” She smiled.

“I know, but still.” Min Min placed down a card in return.

“It’s crazy how people are already trying to excuse Twintelle, though… She orchestrated that whole thing and yet they’re still buying her crocodile tears as if she just made some sort of mistake.”

Min Min sighed. “Well she said she’d spin it. Guess that’s what she’s doing.” She put her card hand down and leant back on her chair. “That’s acting for you, I guess. She must have been playing nice from the start. But after this? I doubt she ever cared about any of us.”

“..................... Do you think we’ll get over it?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“What, after all she did? I mean she was trying to ruin Mechanica’s whole life! We can’t just forgive her for that.”

“I’m not saying we’d forgive her.” Ribbon Girl leant forward, with her head on her palms. “I just think that, if she doesn’t get done-in for all this, she’s gonna be right back in the spotlight and in the ARMS league and we’re gonna see her around just as much as we always have. How long is it gonna take for us to stop holding it against her and just get over it?”

Min Min bit her lip. “... Okay, yeah, probably not all that long. I mean we  _ should _ stay bitter ‘bout this forever.”

Ribbon Girl snorted. “Yeah, and she  _ should _ get proper jail time for what she pulled. I just think that isn’t how things are gonna play out.”

“Mm.” Min Min shrugged, before jumping to her feet. “Well I can tell you one thing I’m certain of!” She extended a hand to Ribbon Girl, who was still sitting at the table.

Ribbon Girl took her hand and got to her feet. “And what would that be?”  
Min Min pulled her in closely, staring deeply into her eyes. “She is  _ definitely _ off the Christmas card list~”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that my friends is the end of another fun ARMS fic! Did you have a nice ride?
> 
> I began it way way back in Octoberish of 2017 and I never intended for it to go on 'hiatus' for as long as it did. Most of the story beats were planned out back when I started, so sadly some things suffered from that break: newer characters like Misango and Dr. Coyle couldn't be woven in and part of Twintelle's motive (wanting a villain for the ARMS league) isn't quite as clever now that ARMS does have a canonical villain of sorts in Dr. Coyle.
> 
> But oh wellllllll. It's still a fun story, yeah? I think so!
> 
> Here's another fun little fact though - y'know Lola? She was never really a valid suspect, 'cause this story was first planned before she was introduced! But I liked her enough to weave her in here-and-there, enough so that she seems like she could have done it just like any of the others could have. But there had already been a version of this story in my head without her in it - the culprit had already been selected before she was included in the line up! Sneaky of me to slip her in there anyways, eh?
> 
> Two more fun little extras, since I might as well share them...
> 
> https://imgur.com/7iKcozg  
> This is the (very basic) map of the train I created back when I began formulating story! It was only really a rough guide to help me plan things and I imagine it's vastly inaccurate to how real trains might be laid out, but it's still a neat tidbit. As Lola was weaved into this story later on, this map doesn't account for her and the final story winds up shoving Spring Man and Ninjara into a room together to make up for that. You can also see that the original name for the train was Snowfall Express!
> 
> https://imgur.com/oVZOeqm  
> Here's a design of Snowman I made quite a decent bit before the fic! It was originally made as just an OC for in-game, without much of a story of its own aside from a small bit of ARMS Lab backstory. When I wanted to have the train derail for this story I decided it'd be an interesting addition and wound up including it mostly as it had been in my original design/idea for the OC.
> 
> Well I hope you came up with some good educated guesses and enjoyed the ride! Thank you all so much for reading and commenting <3
> 
> 'Til next time~


End file.
